Living in London; Traveling and Eating Everywhere

Tacos Por Favor, Santa Monica, CA

Jon and I are in SoCal right now, and although I’m an East Coast girl, I must confess I’m enjoying the sea and sun around these parts. And I’ve definitely been loving all the great Cal-Mex food.

Our fave Mexican fix so far has been at the divey Tacos Por Favor, which is just a dozen blocks east of the ritzy bits of Santa Monica.

huevos rancheros at Tacos Por Favor

Being jetlagged, we were counting the hours until the place opened at 8 am for breakfast. And once in, I had a sinfully-good plate of huevos rancheros. It doesn’t look like much, but I assure you there’s no better way to start your day than with fresh corn tortillas, smoky, spicy salsa, sour cream and an oozy poached egg. The sides of fluffy, sweet tomato rice and creamy beans was a bit overkill at 8 am, but I’m on holiday, you know?

breakfast burrito at Tacos Por Favor

Jon opted for the breakfast burrito, which he felt was more 8 am appropriate, and maybe I’d be convinced he had a point if he hadn’t also wolfed down all the freshly-fried tortilla chips on the side.

The perfect accompaniment for all this heavy “I’m-ready-now-to-work-the-ranch” food were the light and refreshing watermelon agua frescas, the original flavored water.

With both our main dishes costing about $6 and all our food being made on the spot only after we’d placed our order at the cash register, I don’t know why we ate anywhere else while in Santa Monica.

Julie and Ed – Next time I’m in SoCal, I’m hitting you up for recs, because if you’ve got more places like Tacos Por Favor up your sleeve, I’m in for a treat.

Jane – Sadly, I’m already back in London without tortillas. But thanks for the Chosun Galbee rec (which I just posted about), and now I’ll just turn the request around ask *you* to bring back corn tortillas. lol.

You can get to some of the best taco joints in the city without a car contrary to popular belief. Grab the Metro Gold Line at union station and head to Boyle Heights. The third stope will drop you off right in front of King Taco – a mainstay in the neighborhood and L.A in general. The Sopes are also great.

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